The present invention relates to a method of homo- or co-polymerization of xcex1-olefins (hereinafter (co)polymerization), or more particularly to a method for producing olefin (co)polymers of high stereoregularity at a high rate of yields, while controlling the polymer""s molecular weight distribution.
In general, the olefin polymers produced with MgCl2-supported catalysts have a narrow distribution of molecular weights. Many efforts have been made to broaden the distribution of molecular weights, so as to improve fluidity of the products produced by these catalysts at the time of processing. For this purpose, a method has been in wide use in which olefin polymers of different distributions of molecular weights are first made in each different polymerization reactor and later mixed, but this has disadvantages in that it requires much time and effort, and the product is often found to be very uneven. In a recent report from Mitsui Petrochemical of Japan (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1993-000665), a method has been proposed in which olefin polymers with a wider distribution of molecular weights are produced by the use of two particular electron donors, from which homopolyolefins having a melt flow rate (MFR) of greater than 31.6 are respectively polymerized in the same polymerization conditions. In this case, however, the catalytic activity is too low to be commercialized, and not only is its molecular weight distribution difficult to control, but the hydrogen reactivity, which controls the molecular weight distribution of the polymers, is so low as to pose many limitations on the management of its processing.
Meanwhile, many other techniques of prior art are known to produce (co)polymers of high stereoregularity by the use of a solid complex titanium component containing at least magnesium treated with electron donors, and also titanium and a halogen, as a titanium catalyst for (co)polymerization of xcex1-olefins which contains more than three atoms of carbon (for example Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 73-16986 and 73-16987; German Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2,153,520, 2,230,672, 2,230,728, 2,230,752, and 2,553,104).
These references reveal the use of mixture components of particular catalysts and the process for forming these catalysts. As is well known, the characteristics of these catalysts, containing solid complex titanium components, vary from catalyst to catalyst accordant with the different mixtures of components, different combinations of processes for formation, and different combinations of these conditions. Therefore, it is almost impossible to expect similar results from the catalysts produced under a given combination of conditions. Often, a catalyst having extremely defective properties is produced. When proper external electron donors are not used, it is also often true that such characteristics as catalytic activity or stereoregularity of polymers do not turn out to be adequate even though the catalyst is made under proper conditions.
The solid complex titanium component containing at least magnesium, titanium, and halogen is no exception. In (co)polymerization of xcex1-olefins containing more than three atoms of carbon in the presence of hydrogen and with the use of a catalyst composed of titanium and an organometallic compound of metals belonging to Groups I through IV of the Periodic Table, if a catalyst composed of titanium trichloride obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride using metallic aluminum, hydrogen, or an organic aluminum compound is used along with such electron donors as are known to suppress the formation of amorphous (co)polymers, the effects vary depending upon the electron donors used. The cause for this is accepted to be that the electron donors are not merely added, but rather they are combined with the magnesium and titanium compounds, electronically and sterically, thereby fundamentally altering the microstructure of the solid complex catalyst.
New methods for creating polymers of high stereoregularity with higher yields than the existing methods, by the use of certain silicone compounds, have been developed by Dow Corning of the U.S. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,332 and EP Laid-Open No. 602,922), Mitsui Petrochemical of Japan (Korean Patent Publication Nos. 10-1992-2488 and 10-1993-665; U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,479; EP Laid-Open No. 350,170A; Canadian Pat. No. 1,040,379), Samsung General Chemicals of Korea (Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-1998-082629), and other well-known European companies.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a method of producing olefin homo- or co-polymers of high stereoregularity with high yields, and the catalyst system used therein, while controlling the molecular weight distribution of olefin homo- or co-polymers, when applied to the production of olefin homo- or copolymers having more than three atoms of carbon.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method of producing polypropylene or propylene copolymers which are appropriate for use in production of films having sufficient heat-sealability, transparency, and anti-blocking properties, and which also are appropriate for injection molded products having superior strength, impact-resistance, fluidity and heat-sealability at low temperature.
The method of (co)polymerization of xcex1-olefins using a catalyst system includes the following components:
(1) a solid complex titanium catalyst prepared by means of a production method which includes the following steps:
(a) preparing a magnesium compound solution by dissolving magnesium halide and a compound of Group IIIA of the Periodical Table in a solvent mixture of cyclic ether, one or more types of alcohol, a phosphorus compound, and an organic silane;
(b) precipitating the solid particles by reacting said magnesium compound solution with a transition metal compound, a silicon compound, a tin compound, or mixtures thereof, and
(c) reacting said precipitated solid particles with a titanium compound and electron donors;
(2) an organometallic compound of metal of Group IIIA of the Periodical Table; and
(3) external electron donors containing three or more types of organo-silicon compounds, wherein the MFRs (Melt Flow Rate) of the homopolymers obtained at the time of polymerization using individual organo-silicon compounds under the same polymerization conditions are 5 or less, 5-20, and 20 or higher, respectively.
With respect to the catalyst system used in the method of (co)polymerization of xcex1-olefin of the present invention, the method of producing said solid complex titanium catalyst is a method disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2000-009625, the content of which is incorporated herein in toto without specific references.
The solid complex titanium catalyst (1) used in the method of homo- or co-polymerization of xcex1-olefin of the present invention has excellent catalytic activity, as compared with the conventional titanium catalysts, and is capable of producing polymers of high stereoregularity with a broad molecular weight distribution.
In step (a) of the method of producing said solid complex titanium catalyst (1), a magnesium compound may include non-reductive liquid magnesium compounds, for example, such magnesium halides as magnesium chloride, magnesium bromide, magnesium iodide, and magnesium fluoride; such alkoxymagnesium halides as methoxy magnesium chloride, ethoxymagnesium chloride, isopropoxymagnesium chloride, butoxymagnesium chloride, octoxymagnesium chloride; such aryloxymagnesium halides as phenoxymagnesium chloride and methylphenoxymagnesium chloride; such alkoxymagnesiums as ethoxymagnesium, isopropoxymagnesium, butoxymagnesium and octoxymagnesium; such aryloxymagnesiums as phenoxymagnesium and dimethylphenoxymagnesium; and such magnesium salts of carboxylic acid as laurylmagnesium and magnesium stearate. These magnesium compounds may be in the form of complex compounds, or in the form of a mixture with other metals. Moreover, a mixture of two or more magnesium compounds may also be used as said magnesium compound. Preferable magnesium compounds are the magnesium halides, such as magnesium chloride, alkoxymagnesium chloride, and aryloxymagnesium chloride, more preferably, alkoxymagnesium chloride and aryloxymagnesium chloride having a C1-C14 alkoxy group, or still more preferably, aryloxymagnesium chloride having a C5-C20 aryloxy group.
The magnesium compounds listed above can be generally represented by a simple general chemical formula, but some of magnesium compounds are difficult to be represented in this way depending on different production methods. In such cases, they are generally believed to be a mixture of these compounds. For instance, those compounds obtained by the following methods are all considered mixtures of a variety of compounds depending on the different reagents or the different degrees of reaction, and such compounds are also usable in the method described above: the method of reacting magnesium metals with alcohol or phenol in the presence of halosilane, phosphorus pentachloride, or thionyl chloride; the pyrolysis method of the Grignard reagent; the degradation method by using bonding hydroxyl, ester, ether groups or the like.
In an embodiment of the method, non-reductive liquid magnesium compounds or solutions of magnesium compounds in hydrocarbon solvents are mainly used. Such compounds can be produced by reacting the non-reductive magnesium compound listed above with at least one or more electron donors selected from the group consisting of alcohol, organic carboxylic acid, aldehyde, amines, or the mixtures thereof, in the presence or absence of a hydrocarbon solvent which can dissolve the magnesium compounds given above.
The hydrocarbon solvents used for the purpose include, for example, aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, decane, dodecane, and kerosene; an alicyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclopentane, methylcyclopentane, cyclohexane, and methylcyclohexane; such aromatic hydrocarbon as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, cumene, and cymene; and a halogenated hydrocarbon selected from the group such as dichloroethane, dichloropropane, dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, and chlorobenzene.
In step (a) as above for the method of producing said solid complex titanium catalyst (1), the reaction of a magnesium halide compound and alcohol is performed preferably in a hydrocarbon solvent. This reaction is performed, depending on the types of magnesium halide compounds and alcohol used, at room temperature or higher, for example in the range from about 30xc2x0 C. to 200xc2x0 C., or more preferably about 60xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., for a duration in the range from about 15 minutes to 5 hours, or more preferably about 30 minutes to 3 hours. The electron donors in formation of a liquid magnesium compound include compounds having at least 6, or preferably 6 to 20 carbon atoms; for example, such aliphatic alcohols as 2-methylpentanol, 2-ethylbutanol, n-heptanol, n-octanol, 2-ethylhexanol, decanol, dodecanol, tetradecyl alcohol, undecenol, oleyl alcohol, and stearyl alcohol; such alicyclic alcohols as cyclohexanol and methylcyclohexanol; and such aromatic alcohols as benzyl alcohol, methylbenzyl alcohol, isopropyl benzyl alcohol, xcex1-methylbenzyl alcohol, and xcex1,xcex1-dimethylbenzyl alcohol. For alcohols with five or fewer carbon atoms, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, ethyleneglycol and methylcarbitol and the like can be used.
In step (b) as above for the method of producing said solid complex titanium catalyst (1), the magnesium compounds in liquid form, produced as above, are recrystallized into a solid component of globular form with the use of silicon tetrahalide, silicon alkylhalide, tin tetrahalide, tin alkylhalide, tin hydrohalide, titanium tetrahalide, and the like.
In step (c) as above of the method for producing said solid complex titanium catalyst (1), the titanium compound in liquid form to be reacted with a magnesium compound is preferably a tetravalence titanium compound of a general formula of Ti(OR)mX4xe2x88x92m (wherein R is a hydrocarbon group, X a halogen atom, m a number of 0xe2x89xa6mxe2x89xa64). R represents an alkyl group of 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Various titanium compounds can be used; for example, titanium tetrahalides such as TiCl4, TiBr4, and TiI4; alkoxytitanium trihalides such as Ti(OCH3)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Cl3, Ti(OC4H9)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Br3, and Ti(O(i-C2H5)Br3; alkoxytitanium dihalides such as Ti(OCH3)2Cl2, Ti(OC2H5)2Cl2, Ti(OC4H9)2Cl2, and Ti(OC2H5)2Br2; alkoxytitanium halides such as Ti(OCH3)3Cl, Ti(OC2H5)3Cl, Ti(OC4H9)3Cl, and Ti(OC2H5)3Br; and tetraalkoxytitanium mixtures such as Ti(OCH3)4, Ti(OC2H5)4, and Ti(OC4H9)4. Of these compounds, titanium tetrahalides, particularly titanium tetrachloride is preferred.
In step (c) as above for the method of producing said solid complex titanium catalyst (1), the examples of electron donors in general are as follows: oxygen-containing electron donors such as water, alcohol, phenol, ketone, aldehyde, carboxylic acid, ester, ether, and acid amide; nitrogen-containing electron donors such as ammonia, amine, nitrile, and isocyanate; and particularly, alcohols having 1 to 18 carbon atoms such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, pentanol, hexanol, octanol, dodecanol, octadecylalcohol, benzylalcohol, phenylethylalcohol, cumylalcohol, and isopropylbenzylalcohol; ketones having 6 to 15 carbon atoms, which can contain lower alkyl groups, such as phenol, cresol, xylene, ethylphenol, propylphenol, cumylphenol, and naphthol; aldehydes having 2 to 15 carbon atoms such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, octylaldehyde, benzaldehyde, tolualdehyde, and naphtaldehyde; organic acid esters having 2 to 18 carbon atoms such as methyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, vinyl acetate, propyl acetate, octyl acetate, cyclohexyl acetate, ethyl propionate, methyl butyrate, ethyl valerate, methyl chloro acetate, ethyl dichloro acetate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl crotonate, ethyl cyclohexyl carboxylate, phenyl benzoate, benzyl benzoate, methyl toluate, ethyl toluate, amyl toluate, ethyl ethyl benzoate, methyl anisate, ethyl anisate, ethyl ethoxybenzoate, xcex3-butyrolactone, xcex4-valerolactone, cumarin, phthalide, cyclohexyl acetate, ethyl propionate, methyl butyrate, methyl valerate, methyl chloroacetate, ethyl dichloroacetate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl cycloate, phenyl benzoate, methyl toluate, ethyl toluate, propyl benzoate, butyl benzoate, cyclohexyl benzoate, amyl toluate, ethylene carbonate, and ethylene carbonate; acid halide compounds having 2 to 15 carbon atoms such as acetyl chloride, benzyl chloride, chlorotoluate, and chloroanisate; acid amides such as methyl ether, ethyl ether, isopropyl ether, butyl ether, amyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, anisole, and diphenyl ether; amines such as methyl amine, ethyl amine, diethyl amine, tributyl amine, piperidine, tribenzyl amine, aniline, pyridine, pinoline, and tetramethyletheyelene diamine; nitriles such as acetonitrile, benzonitrile, and tolunitrile; and compounds of aluminum, silicon, tin, and the like, which have the above-said functional groups in their molecules. On the other hand, the catalysts reacted with certain electron donors are used to produce xcex1-olefin polymers with improved stereoregularity and greater yields. The electron donors used to produce the catalysts herein are, in particular, ester derivatives of monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), polyethylene glycol (PEG), monopropylene glycol (MPG), and dipropylene glycol (DPG), such as acetate, propionate, n- and iso-butyrate, benzoate, toluate, etc. As examples of the above electron donors, the benzoates include monoethylene glycol monobenzoate, monoethylene glycol dibenzoate, diethylene glycol monobenzoate, diethylene glycol dibenzoate, diethylene glycol monobenzoate, triethylene glycol monobenzoate, triethylene glycol dibenzoate, monopropyl glycol monobenzoate, dipropylene glycol monobenzoate, dipropylene glycol dibenzoate, tripropylene glycol monobenzoate, and the like.
The polymers obtained through slurry polymerization by using the resultant solid catalysts are particles of granular or globular form of excellent particle size distribution, with high bulk density and good fluidity.
The aforesaid solid complex titanium catalyst (1) can be beneficially used in polymerization of such olefins as ethylene, propylene, and 1-butene or 4methyl-1-pentene. This catalyst can be especially used in the polymerization of xcex1-olefins having three or more carbon atoms, the copolymerization thereof, copolymerization of xcex1-olefins of three or more carbon atoms having ethylene of less than 10 mol %, and in the copolymerization of xcex1-olefins of three or more carbon atoms with poly-unsaturated compounds such as conjugated or nonconjugated dienes.
The organometallic component (2) includes, in particular, trialkyl aluminums such as triethyl aluminum and tributyl aluminum; trialkenyl aluminum such as triisoprenyl aluminum; partly alkoxylated alkyl aluminums, for example, dialkylaluminum alkoxides such as diethylaluminum ethoxide and dibutylaluminum butoxide; alkylaluminum sesquihalides such as ethylaluminum sesquiethoxide and butylaluminum sesquiethoxide; alkylaluminum dihalide such as ethylaluminum dichloride, propylaluminum dichloride and butylaluminum dibromide; partly halogenated aluminum, for example, aluminum hydrides such as diethylaluminum hydride and dibutylaluminum hydride; dialkylaluminum hydrides such as dibutylaluminum hydride; and partly alkoxylated and halogenated alkyl aluminums such as ethylaluminum ethoxychloride, butylaluminum butoxychloride and ethylaluminum ethoxybromide.
In this method of (co)polymerization of xcex1-olefins, the organosilicon compounds are used as external electron donors during the polymerization reaction to improve the stereoregularity of the produced polymers. The organosilicon compounds include ethyltriethoxysilane, n-propyl triethoxysilane, t-butyl triethoxysilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, diphenyldimethoxysilane, phenylmethyldimethoxysilane, bis p-tolyldimethoxysilane, p-tolylmethyldimethoxysilane, dicyclohexyldimethoxysilane, cyclohexyldimethyldimethoxysilane, 2-norbornanetriethoxysilane, 2-norbornanemethyldimethoxysilane, diphenyldiethoxysilane, etc., and organometallic compounds including cyclopentyl, cyclopentenyl, cyclopentadienyl groups or the derivatives thereof can be used.
In particular, as external electron donors (3), it is preferable to use dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane, cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane, and vinyltriethoxysilane. In such cases, the molar ratio of dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane is in the range of 0.05-0.7 of electron donors therein; the molar ratio of cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane is in the range of 0.2-0.9 of electron donors therein; and the molar ratio of vinyltriethoxysilane is in the range of 0.05-0.7 of electron donors therein. More preferably, the molar ratio of dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane is in the range of 0.05-0.5 of electron donors therein; the molar ratio of cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane is in the range of 0.2-0.6 of electron donors therein; and the molar ratio of vinyltriethoxysilane is in the range of 0.05-0.5 of electron donors therein.
The polymerization reaction can be performed in liquid or gaseous phase, but as the polymers produced with the use of the catalysts are of even granularity with high bulk density, it is more appropriate to use gaseous phase polymerization.
In liquid polymerization, such inactive solvents as hexane, heptane, and kerosene can be used as reaction mediums, but olefin itself may also serve as a reaction medium. In the case of liquid polymerization, the preferable concentration of the solid complex titanium catalyst (1) in the polymerization reaction system is about 0.001-5 mmols per liter of solvent, as measured in terms of titanium atoms, or more preferably about 0.001-0.5 mmol per liter of solvent. In the case of gaseous polymerization, also in terms of titanium atoms, concentrations from about 0.001-5 mmols, or preferably about 0.001 mmol to about 1.0 mmol, yet more preferably about 0.01xcx9c0.5 mmol per liter of solvent is used for polymerization. The ratio of organometallic atoms in component (2) is about 1-2,000 mols per mole of titanium atoms in said solid catalyst (1), or preferably about 5-500 mols. The ratio of electron donors (3), as calculated in terms of silicon atoms, is about 0.001-10 mols, preferably about 0.01-2 mol, or more preferably about 0.05-1 mol per mole of organometallic atoms in component (2).
The polymerization reaction using the catalyst is performed in the same way as in the conventional method where a Ziegler-type catalyst is used. Note that this reaction is performed substantially in the absence of oxygen and water. The olefin polymerization reaction is performed, preferably, at a temperature in the range of about 20-200xc2x0 C., more preferably at about 50-180xc2x0 C., and under pressure ranging from about atmospheric pressure to 100 atm, preferably from about 2-50 atm. The reaction can be performed either by batch, or semi-batch, or continuously, and can also be performed in two or more steps with different reaction conditions.
Below, the preferred embodiment will be shown in further detail through examples and comparative examples. Nonetheless, these examples and comparative examples are for illustrative purposes only, and is no way limited thereby.